Kansas senior Tarik Black was a solid frontcourt role player for the Jayhawks last season, as the 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward averaged 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds on 69 percent shooting from the field in 13.5 minutes per game.

Now that he’s exhausted his college eligibility, Black will likely look over his professional basketball options but could the forward be better suited for a potential career in the NFL?

It just so happens that Black’s favorite NFL team is the Green Bay Packers.

“Green Bay is my favorite team. (Black) told him, ‘Hey, I understand you’re hurt; we need you healthy. We need a championship.’ Then (Rodgers) says, ‘You should help me win it. Come play some tight end.’ So I say, ‘Give me a contract and make it happen.’ ”

Black thought the whole interchange was a joke.

Apparently Rodgers did not.

The Packers passer went to Self and said, “I want to throw balls at him and see what he can do.”

From there, Rodgers threw to Black and came away impressed with his football ability. The two exchanged phone numbers and Black texted Rodgers a month later to see if Aaron was serious about his interest in the forward’s potential football pursuits.

Rodgers put Black in touch with a Green Bay Packers scout and the two spoke over the phone. Adelson also notes that three NFL teams have shown interest in Black through his agent Chad Wiestling, including one NBA team that called on behalf of an NFL team from the same city to get Black’s phone number.

Since former college basketball players like Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham have successfully transitioned to NFL tight ends, it’s no surprise that Rodgers is looking for any kind of big red-zone target that he can find.

Could Black potentially play in the NFL? That’s hard to say. Black certainly has the size and strength to give it a shot, but at least he got to catch passes from his favorite team’s quarterback.